Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to the body and soul.

I love books. They have always been my favorite of source of entertainment and adventure. One of my favorite childhood books on nature was Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I was particularly drawn to the idea of living simply in a cabin in the woods (a romantic introvert's dream).

I also loved magazines for the stories but the pictures were what really drew me in. Pictures of far away places and exotic cultures were intoxicating to my curious mind. National geographic was a favorite with one of the most memorable covers -- Afghan Girl (striking green eyes) -- published in 1984. I dreamed of one day traveling the world to see it all for myself. Today this day, National Geographic is a part of my reading collection (I got the subscription for my husband's birthday - heehee!) I like other magazines but none as much as NG.

As for outdoor TV shows, the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau was one of my favorites when I was growing up. Exploring the unknown kept me transfixed during each episode. Even while looking up the show for this post, I found myself watching a whole episode of vintage Jacques Cousteau - Sunken Treasure. I was transported back to my childhood as I anticipated the discovery of the long lost treasure. You'll have to watch it to see what happens. :-)

But of course, these books, magazines, and TV shows represent only a small part of my exposure as a kid. My mom made sure that my brother and I were exposed to all types of literature including publications that informed us about black lives beyond our own experience. We had subscriptions to Ebony, Jet, and Essence magazines which showcased the lives of African Americans not generally included in mainstream magazines when I was growing up. We also had a set of the Ebony Pictorial History of Black America from the 1970's to supplement the biased accounts of history being taught in South Carolina schools at the time.

The bottom line is I've always been a bit of an explorer/adventurer, bookworm, and dreamer. This was encouraged in my household, so I guess being a scientist was my destiny. But my mom used to say "you can take a girl out of the country, but you can never take the country out of the girl." I will always be a country girl looking for adventure in nature and no one can ever take that away from me.